No 10

Camped near Vicksburg

June 6^th63

 

Dear Mollie

I wrote you a leter the 30 of may & I have not received eny since the 28 we are looking for mail to day. in one of my letters from youngs point I sent you a rose & a gold dollar for Lillie. I never have heard from them perhaps you did not get them. if not write about it in your next. well Mary, we are laying here yet. this makes 18 days since we came here & we have not got Vixburg yet. we think they will surrender before long. they are expecting Jo Johnson to reinforce them. he came as near as black river, when our forces met them & licked them like thunder & captured a lot of prisoners & catle / they say if Johnson dont reinforce them in a fiew days they will halfto surrender. disserters come to our lines every night they say they live on pea bread & not half enough of that. we are fighting them every day with artilery & sharp shooters. we are entrenching every night. one of our regiments was at work last night & they got so near the rebels that one of our men threw his pack into their intenchment where they were at work & they run like thunder. the pickets agreed not to shoot at each other. if they dont, we will have their entrenchments before long. the general health of our troops is very good Vrooman & Landon are well & harty Vrooman is writing to Kate to day. some of the boys of the 9 are / are here. Owen Farly is sick, the boys say he is some beter. I saw Don night before last. his health is about the same. I think he will go home before long. Adjitent Baker & Govenor Kerkwood was here to day. they have been all around the line to see the Iowa boys. they think we have got them tight & they must give up before long. I heard some of the boys of the 25 say that Kerkwood said that they would go out of the service in 9 months if that should be the case we will go out the 15 of July but I dont believe it. I think we will stay until the war ends let it be long or short.

 

well mary it is almost sundown / & it is very hot. it is as hot here now as the hotest weather we have in Iowa. if it gets as much hotter from now on as it does in Iowa it will be most imposible to live here.

 

Sunday morning the 7. I will close my letter this morning while it is cool. in conclusion I will say that the boys who elected Jo Evens now talk of geting up a pertition for him to resine they dont like him at all. I think they will get anough of him after a while.

 

            my health is very good & my eyes are geting some beter. write often & may John & Josa do the same. Good by for this time, from yours with affection

                                                                                               

O Shibly to

Mollie

SOURCES